


Accept

by natashalieromanov



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 04:23:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14783537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashalieromanov/pseuds/natashalieromanov
Summary: The journey to self-acceptance can be hard.Pepper wishes it were different.





	Accept

It starts when she’s eight and best friends with Christie Thompson.

Virginia can’t explain it, but she wants to be around Christie all time time. She’s funny, and she’s good at English and history, and she comes up with the  _best_ games and lets Virginia borrow her favorite Barbie clothes.

Having a best friend is pretty nice, Virginia thinks.

**

She’s fourteen, and her mother is seething after seeing two boys holding hands.

“It’s  _disgusting_ , Virginia. If I ever catch you doing something like that…God, I don’t even want to think about it.” Mom glances at her out of the corner of her eye. “ _Promise_  me, Virginia. Promise me you’ll never engage in that filthy lifestyle.”

Ginny squirms uncomfortably but says, “I promise, Mom.”

She ignores the longing she feels when she glances at Stella Morris, too afraid to be anything other than a dutiful daughter.

**

She’s fifteen, and she watches in horror after her mother chases Stella out of the house.

They had been so careful. No hand holding, kissing, or otherwise hinting at being anything other than best friends. They rarely even hugged each other.

But Mom had forgotten her purse, barged into Ginny’s room to remind her to finish her laundry, and found them…

Well. That didn’t matter, because her bliss had faded and Stella would never talk to her again.

She flinches at her mother’s sharp, “ _Virginia Rose! Get down here!”_

The welt left from her mother’s wedding ring lasts for days. Ginny makes sure to wear extra foundation.

**

She’s seventeen, and she finds Brandon Exely repulsive. 

But she’ll be fine. She’s graduating in a few months and then she’ll be off to college.

She only has to play to role of dutiful daughter for a little bit longer.

**

She’s eighteen when she comes out to her group of friends.

Their rejection hurts differently from her mother’s, but it leaves Ginny aching all the same.

**

She’s twenty, and Angela Cruz is beautiful.

Soon, she’s twenty-one. Her parents don’t know. But it’s okay, because Angela’s closeted too. 

**

They don’t last, and she’s sad, but Gina thinks it may have been for the best.

She didn’t miss her mother shooting her suspicious looks at Christmas dinner.

**

She’s thirty, and she’s Tony Stark’s personal assistant. 

She ignores the jealousy churning in her gut whenever she sees him with Rhodey.

Tony’s family is dead, but Pepper sees the way Rhodey’s has welcomed him with open arms.

Pepper knows it’s different (Tony had been in the Rhodes’ family since he was 15, after all), but she can’t help but yearn for a girlfriend whose family will treat  _her_ like that.

**

Pepper is thirty-two when she comes out to Tony and Rhodey.

They smile and hug her, and despite her smatterings of rejection and failed relationships, she feels at peace.

**

Pepper is thirty-eight, and she’s CEO of Stark Industries. 

Her mother keeps asking her if she’s going to get with Tony, because, “I’ve seen you two together, Virginia. The way he looks at you…You’d be a fool to pass that up.”

Mother doesn’t know that Tony is married. Tony and Rhodey have kept it quiet, and she would never out them.

Her mother’s rejection, even after all these years, cuts deeper than a knife.

**

She’s thirty-eight, and Natalie Rushman is  _beautiful._

_**_

She’s thirty-nine, and she and Natasha Romanov are getting ready for the Potts family Christmas festivities. 

She’s warned Natasha about her family, but facing them seems a little less scary than usual.

Natasha is  _home_ _,_ and her family will just have to get over it. Nat takes her hand, and Pepper smiles.

For the first time, she’s at peace with herself.

 

 


End file.
